Maternity garment



y 1963 A. T. KELLEAM MATERNITY GARMENT Filed April 27, 1961 FIGS FIGZ

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F|G4 I IN VEN TOR. ALTA T. KELLEAM A TTORNE Y United States Patent 3,089,149 MATERNITY GARMENT Alta Keileam, P.0. Box 263, Duncan, Okla.

Filed Apr. 27, 1961, Ser. No. 106,017

1 Ciaim. (Cl. 2-221) This invention relates to maternity garments, and more part cularly to a maternity garment adapted for conversion into a garment of normal conformation.

Because of the functional design problems involved practically all present day maternity garments are so de signed that it is diflicult,.if not impossible, to alter or remodel the garment for subsequent use as a normal garment. In the usual case, a maternity skirt is constructed with a relatively deep U-shaped opening in the front with an expansible waistband or draw string bridging the upper end of the opening. Although in theory it would be possible to remodel such a garment into a garment of normal conformation by stitching in a panel of matching material to fill the opening, the U-shaped seam which would result would detract from the appearance of the skirt to a degree which most women would find objectionable. Thus, the expectant mother finds it necessary to purchase a wardrobe of maternity garments which are useful only during expectancy and which are frequently discarded before the full wear of the garment has been utilized.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a matermty garment which may be remodeled readily into a garment of normal conformation and appearance.

The foregoing, and other objects, may be achieved by altering a garment, such as a skirt of normal conformatron in the following manner. The skirt is cut along a line extending downwardly through the waistband of the sklrt along the front center line of the skirt for a distance of the order of six inches. If the skirt is constructed with a front seam, it is not necessary to cut the skirt, but the front seam may be opened instead. The portrons of the skirt at the opposite sides of the vertical cut or opened seam are then turned back inwardly toward the sides of the skirt in the form of inwardly turned triangular lapel portions. The folding of the skirt in the above manner thus creates a V-shaped opening in the upper front central portion of the skirt.

A vertically pleated panel is then secured to the waistband of the skirt to hang downwardly on the inner side of the skirt in underlying relationship with the opening. As the stage of expectancy advances, pleats may be removed from the insert panel to enable the waist of the skirt to be expanded. To remodel the garment to its normal conformation, it is only necessary to seam up the vertical cut or to replace the open portion of the front seam of the garment.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent :by reference to the following specification and to the drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a maternity skirt embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 shows the skirt of FIG. 1 turned inside out to show the inner side of the skirt front;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 with the pleated insert panel shown in FIG. 2 removed;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the waist of the skirt slightly expanded;

FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of the skirt of FIG. 1 altered to a normal conformation; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the front of the pleated insert panel.

In the drawings, the invention is shown as being employed on a skirt. However, as will become apparent 3,@89,i49 Patented May 14, 1963 "ice from the following description, the invention is not limited in application only to skirts but in fact is equally applicable to any nether or lower garment such as slacks, shorts, etc. Further, because of the minimum amount of alterations required to convert the skirt or other garment from maternity use to normal use, it is apparent that the invention can readily be practiced to construct a maternity skirt by making only minor alterations to a normal skirt.

Thus, referring first to FIG. 5, there is shown a skirt of conventional construction having right and left front panels 10 and 12 joined to each other at the vertical front center line of the skirt by a front seam 14. In the usual case, the skirt is constructed with a waistband 16 and may be provided with a conventional zipper closure indicated at 18. Preferably, the skirt is constructed with darts 20 located on the rear side of the skirt so that the waist and upper portions of the skirt may be tailored or adjusted to the desired fit. In the practice of the'present invention, it is desirable, but not essential, that the skirt be constructed with darts such as20' so that the darts may be used in adjusting the fit during the conversion of the skirt between normal and maternity use. In FIG. 5, the skirt is shown as including a pair of snap-fastener elements 22 secured to the outer front side of the skirt at the waistband at equally spaced distances on opposite sides of front seam 14. Snaps 22 are employed when the skirt is used as a maternity skirt and may be removed when the skirt is employed as a normal skirt.

To convert the skirt of FIG. 5 into a maternity skirt, as shown in FIG. 1, front seam 14 is opened downwardly from waistband '16 for a distance of from 6 to -8 inches. The distance for which front seam 14 is opened will, of course, vary in accordance with the measurements of the person who is to use the skirt.

The portions of front panels 10 and 12 on opposite sides of the opened portion of front seam 14 are then folded back against the inside of the respective front panels to form inwardly turned lapel portions 24 and 26, respectively. This creates a V-shaped opening which extends downwardly into the front of the skirt, the sides of the V-shaped opening being defined by the fold lines 28 and 30 respectively above which lapel portions 24 and 26 are turned. As best seen in FIG. 3, fold lines 28 and 30 are so located that snaps 22 are disposed upon the upper corners of the lapel portions on the inner side of the skirt.

The V-shaped opening thus formed is then filled with a pleated insert 32 shown in FIG. 6. Insert 32 is generally rectangular in shape and has an outline sufficient to completely encompass the V-shaped opening in the skirt. The pleats of insert 32 are normally held in place by a line of stitching 34 extending along the upper edge of the insert, the lower end of the vertical pleats being free. Fastener elements 36 are mounted on the outer side of insert 32 and are of a type adapted to snap into fasteners 22 secured to the skirt. Insert 32 is held in place in underlying relationship with the V-shaped opening by snapping fasteners 36 into fastener 22.

As the stage of expectancy advances, the width of the upper portion of the V-shaped opening can be expanded by removing stitches from the pleated insert, as indicated in FIG. 4, to thus adjust the waistline of the skirt as necessary. If the skirt originally included darts 20, these also may be let out or altered as required.

To remodel the skirt for normal use, it is necessary only to remove the pleated insert and restitch the opened portion of front sea-m 14. Darts 20 may be realtered as necessary to achieve the desired fit.

While the invention has been specifically described by enemas reference to a skirt, it is again emphasized, and believed to be apparent, that the invention is equally applicable to garments other than skirts, such as slacks or the like. While the invention is conveniently practiced on garments having a central vertical front seam, the presence of a pre-existing front seam or the purposeful provision of a front seam is not essential to the invention, as the opening may easily 'be formed by simply cutting downwardly along the vertical front center line of the skirt or other garment. Where it is necessary to cut the material in the foregoing manner, conversion of the cut garment to one of normal configuration may be accomplished by careful formation of the seam adjoining the front edges or alternatively by extending the front seam the full length of the skirt as in the described example.

While one exemplary embodiment of the invention has been described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the disclosed embodiment may be modified. Therefore, the foregoing description may be considered exemplary rather than limiting, and the true scope of the invention is that defined in the following claim.

I claim:

A maternity garment convertible into a garment of normal conformation comprising an outer nether garment having a lower torso and upper leg covering portions and a Waist encircling upper edge, a pair of triangular lapel portions at the front central portion of said garment extending downwardly from said upper edge and folded inwardly of said garment along upwardly divergent fold lines to define a V-shaped opening extending downwardly from said upper edge into the upper front portion of said garment, the sides of each lapel portion being defined by one of said fold lines, a portion of said upper edge, and a free side edge, the free side edges of said lapel portions being movable into edgewise abutment with each other and adapted to be secured to each other to define a garment of normal conformation with the abutting side edges extending downwardly from the upper edge of the garment along its vertical front center line, and a removable extensible insert panel supported at the interior of said garment and underlying said V-shaped opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 23,-81-8 Vraciu Apr. 27, 1954 1,084,968 Sablove Jan. 20, 1914 1,155,551 Cooper et al Oct. 5, 1.915 2,071,574 Regis et a1 Feb. 23, 1937 2,141,814 Frankfurt et a1 Dec. 27, 1938 2,259,236 Wellins et al Oct. 14, 1941 2,618,784 Root Nov. 25, 1952 2,661,477 Gilbertson Dec. 8, 1953 2,867,817 Kaye Jan. 13, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 798,461 Great Britain July 23, 1958 

